A query on every invoice
The accounts team invoices each guarding client monthly. For a straightforward static site, it is contracted hours times rate. But this month the retail client asked for an extra guard on two Saturdays, the office client's building was closed for a bank holiday and the guard was stood down, and the warehouse guard stayed an extra hour three times at the client's request. Each change was agreed by the account manager, by email or phone.
The accounts administrator builds invoices from the contract and the changes she has been told about. The retail client queries theirs: their records show the extra guard on one Saturday, not two. The office client queries the bank holiday. The warehouse client has not been charged for the extra hours at all, because nobody told accounts.
Why billed hours drift from worked hours
Guarding invoices are usually built from the contract, not from what happened, with the difference patched by hand. The information about what happened, in the rota, booking records and account managers' emails, does not flow to the person raising invoices.
- Invoices start from contracted hours rather than hours worked.
- Extra hours requested by clients are agreed by account managers and not passed on.
- Stood-down shifts and closures are not reflected.
- Charge rates differ for bank holidays, extra cover and short notice, and are applied by hand.
- Clients keep their own records of guard hours and compare.
What mismatched invoices cost
Unbilled extra hours are lost income, often paid to guards but never charged. Queried invoices are paid late, so cash flow suffers. Each query takes time from accounts and the account manager. And a pattern of invoice errors makes clients doubt everything else, which matters at renewal.
Invoicing from approved hours
- Each contract's charge rules are set up: contracted hours per site, charge rates by time and day, bank holiday rates, extra cover and short-notice rates, and minimum charges.
- Approved hours worked come from your booking on and off records, after supervisor approval of differences.
- Extra hours requested by the client are recorded as client-requested, with who requested them and when, so they are billable.
- Stood-down shifts are recorded with the reason, and the contract's rule for them is applied.
- A draft invoice per client shows contracted hours, hours worked, the difference and the reason for each difference.
- The accounts administrator reviews and approves, and invoices are posted to your accounts package, such as Xero or Sage, with a shift-by-shift breakdown attached.
- If a client queries a line, the booking records and the client's request are one click away.
| Invoice section | Taken from |
|---|---|
| Contracted hours | Contract charge rules |
| Hours worked by site and shift | Approved booking records |
| Client-requested extra cover | Requests logged with the client's name and time |
| Stood-down shifts | Rota changes with reasons |
| Rates applied | Contract charge rules by time and day |
Month end with hours-based invoicing
Draft invoices are ready on the first working day, built from what was worked. The warehouse client's three extra hours are on the invoice, each tagged as requested by their site manager. The retail client's two Saturdays show both booking records, which answers the query before it is raised. The accounts administrator approves and posts. Pay and billing come from the same approved hours, so they match.
Contract rate changes, such as an annual uplift, are set with an effective date and apply from then.
The account managers' side of it is small. When a client rings to ask a guard to stay late, the guard's supervisor approves the extra hour with the client's name as the requester, which takes seconds on a phone. That one habit is what turns an extra hour from a favour nobody bills into a line on the invoice with evidence behind it. For clients who approve timesheets themselves, the same record goes to them first, so disputes are settled before the invoice exists rather than after it is overdue.
Are your invoices queried every month?
- Invoices are built from contracted hours and adjusted by hand.
- Extra hours clients ask for are not always billed.
- Clients compare invoices with their own records and find differences.
- Bank holiday and short-notice rates are applied manually.
- Pay and invoices come from different numbers.